Mark Cavendish kept his record perfect, winning for the fourth straight year on the Champs Elysées, sealing the 2012 Tour de France for Sky Procycling.
As always, there was a breakaway of brave riders who hoped they might outpower the rest of the peloton, and they very nearly succeeded. Sky kept the suspense high; they didn’t catch the breakaway until the last half of the last six-kilometer lap through downtown Paris.
Once the break was caught, the British team dominated just as it had through the final two-thirds of the 2012 Tour. Sky lined up its leadout train, something it hadn’t done during the Tour, showing that if it hadn’t been focused on winning the General Classification, it could have delivered Cavendish to the line in every sprint stage.
Bradley Wiggins, resplendent in his race leader’s yellow jersey, took over in the final 1500 meters and drove the pace so high no one could pass him. Edvald Boasson Hagen led Cavendish into the final kilometer, and Cav launched early, with Orica GreenEdge sprinter Matt Goss on his wheel.
The Manx Missile just kept accelerating; Goss had to go all-out just to stay on Cav’s wheel. Peter Sagan, the 22-year-old phenomenon from Liquigas, showed incredible speed, bridging a gap of a couple dozen meters to pass Goss just at the line, but no one could touch Cavendish— the sprinter rode away from everyone else in a sustained burst of unmatchable speed. The Manx Missile is still the Fastest Man in the World.
Cavendish is also the only rider in Tour history to win four times on the Champs Elysées. This 23rd Tour stage win moves the Sky rider into fourth in career stage wins.
